Manager Agrees Not to Give Advice

Earthlink co-founder Reed Slatkin has agreed not to provide investment advice as part of ongoing negotiations with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The agency said Thursday that the bankrupt money manager consented to the order that prohibits him from association with any investment advisor. SEC officials accused Slatkin of operating a Ponzi scheme shortly after he filed for bankruptcy in May 2001.

Slatkin's attorney Brian Sun said his client's cooperation with SEC officials was "part of our ongoing effort to try and resolve this."

Slatkin still may face fines from the SEC and be ordered to pay back some of the money, an estimated $593 million, to investors.

A federal bankruptcy court trustee said last month that Slatkin knowingly ran the bogus scheme that funneled money from new investors to old investors who had been contributing funds since 1986.